Information plate



Jan. 15,1929.

' c. A. ROLFE INFORMATION PLATE Filed Oct. 10, 1927 Patented Jan. 15,1929.

UNITED STATES CHARLES A, ROLFE, 0F REDLANIDS, CALIFORNIA.

" INFORMATION PLATE.

Application filed October 10, 1927. Serial No. 225,253;

This invention has to do generally with information plates, and is moreparticularly concerned with means for displaying perti nent informationon the fronts of telephone transmitters. For instance, such informationmay be in the nature of the exchange number of the equipped phone andemergency :all numbers. i

It may be considered as the general object of the invention to providean information plate of this type which may be applied to and removedfrom the transmitter with ease and without mutilating the instrument,and yet so fashioned that it may be held stationarily in predeterminedposition on the transmitter without necessitating the use of independentattachment elements.

/Vith printed information on the plate, it obviously essential tomaintain the plate stationarily in a given position in order-thatsaidinformation may be presented properly at all times. The informationplate is mounted on the mouthpiece of the transmitter at a pointadjacent the face of the transmitter body, but it will be apparent thatshould the plate be rotatable upon the mouthpiece, it would be capableof being inadvertently rotated out of proper position. Furthermore, inorder that the plate may not project beyond the edge of the transmitterbody and thereby interfere with easy operation of the associatedreceiver and its hook, the plate is necessarily confined to a shapeapproximating that of the face plate of the transmitter. it follows thatthe central mounting of the plate on the mouthpiece leaves said plate inbalance no matter to what position it is rotated, and therefore, withthe plate liable to be rotated out of position, there would be everylikelihood that the telephone user would have to rotate the plate backto proper position each time he had ocassion to refer to it. Of course,this could be overcome by properly over-weighting the plate at one side,but such a provision necessarily would add to the expense of tneinstallation and would be generally undesirable. I

From the above it will be apparent that in order to be thoroughlysatisfactory, means must be provided to hold the-plate against movementfrom a predetermined position, and yetthe means must be such as willcall for no special attachment members and which will in no way mutilateor deface-the instrument.

I have accomplished the above by s a fastening the plate that aportion'thereof is adapted to extend and be clamped between the body ofthe transmitter and the annular shoulder provided on every standardmouthpiece for limiting the moven'ient of the mouthpiece toward thebody. To apply the plate it is only necessary to uns 163V the.mouthpiece from the transmitter body, slip the information plate overthe threaded extremity of the mouthpiece, and then screw the mouthpieceback into the transmitter body until the plate is clamped tightlybetweenthe aforementioned shoulder and the transmitter body, care being takenthat the plate be rotated to a position properly presenting itsinformation before the mouthpiece is threaded fully home. Otl1er objectsand characteristics of the information will be made apparent in thefollowing detailed description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a. detached front elevation of atransmitter body showing an information plateapplied thereto, themouthpiece being broken away to expose a portion of the plate, where itlies therebeneath; A

' Fig. 2 is a section on line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a view generallysimilar to Fig. 1, but showing a modified type'of information plate; andi Fig. 4 is a section taken about on broken line 4lt of Fig. 3.

I have indicated somewhatconventionally a transmitter body 10 includingshell 11 and face plate 12, the latter having a centrally pressed outportion 12 which is centrally apertured and internally threaded as at14. llherc is thus presented an annular shoulder 15 spaced. horizontallyfrom the major portion of face plate 12. is usual, mouthpiece 16 is ofreduced diameterat one 6X-. tremity 17, said extremity having threads 18adapted to engage threads 14 for holding the 'mouthpiece and transmitterbody detachably in assembly. Adjacent extremity 17 there is presented onmouthpiece 16'an annular shoulder 19 which faces body 10 and which isnormally adapted to engage shoulder 15 when the mouthpiece is screwedfully home.

Information plate 20 is preferably,though not necessarily, in the formof a thin cardboard or metal disk which is centrally apertured at 21 totake mouthpiece 16. The information displayed on this plate may be ofany desired character; for instance, there may be an outlined numberpanel 22, having thereon the particular number 23 of the equippedtelephone. 1 There may also be printed on the plate certain emergencycall numbers, such as that indicated at 24, or any other pertinentinformation. 7

It will be evident, in order that plate 20 remain constantly in'aposition to present its information properly to the eye of the telephone user, that said plate must be held against rotation about themouthpiece. It is also desirable that the plate beheld from movementlongitudinally along the mouthpiece and from tilting movement whichmight occur even thoughthe plate fitted the mouthpiece comparativelysnugly at a point adjacent body 10, due to the fact that the outer edgesof the plate are necessarily spaced horizentally from the forward faceof the trans nutter body.

ll accomplish this releasable holding by so fashioning plate 20 that aportion 25 thereof is adapted .to be taken between shoulders 15 and 19.In order to insure that plate 20 be centered with the transmitter bodyand mouthpiece when saidplate is installed, aperture 20 is preferably ofa diameter just to take reduced portion 17. A further advantage resultsfrom this provision in that it insures an approximately complete annularbearing of shoulderlg on the plate portion 25, there then being lesslikelihood of the mouthpiece being loosened by Vibrations and the like.

In applying the information plate, it is merely necessary to unscrewmouthpiece 16 from body 10, slip plate 20 over extremity 17, and thenscrew the mouthpiece home, care being taken that the information platebe rotated to proper position before the mouthpiece had been screwed farenough in to exert a clamping action on said plate. It will be evidentthat when the mouthpiece screwed fully home it 'cl'ainps plate 20against shoulder 15 to hold the plate against rotation and movementlongitudinally of the body aXis. Furthermore, the plate 20 is heldagainst tiltmovement toward and away from body 10 in spite of the factthat said plate is horizontally spaced from the main plane of thetransmitter front. I

in Figs. 3 and 4 I have illustrated a modified embodiment of theinvention wherein there is provided a separable number panel 22 oninformation plat'eQO. This feature makes it possible to print anyquantity of standard information plates and then provide individualnumber panels for the individual telephones to be equip ed. The economicadvantage of this feature is self-evident.

While panels 22 may beheld to the plate in any desired manner apreferred method of securement is illustrated. Plate 22 is provided withspaced, parallel slits 26 through which the opposite ends 27 of panel 22are adapted to eiztend, the panel preferably being made of paper or thincard-board, and

plate being of such material that it has sufficient resilience to exerta slight binding longer than the panel is wide. Consequently there issome tendency for the panel to shift with respect to the face plate. Inorder to prevent such shifting, as well as any other HlOVGlll'Qlll? ofthe panel with respect to the plate, I so locate slits 2'6 and positionpanel 252 on plate 20 that, when said plate is mounted on thetransmitter in the manner illustrated in Fig. {i (which is equivalent tothe mounting of plate 20 in Fig. 2, a portion 25 of said panel extendsbetween shoulder 19 and said plate, or, in effect, between shoulders 15}and 15. Consequently, when mouthpiece 16 is threaded home, panel 22 isheld against movement with respect to plate 26* and said plate is heldagainst movement with respect to the transmitter.

Should'the number of the equipped phone be changed, it is evident thatit is a matter of ease to remove the plate from the transmitter andreplace panel 22 with properly numbered panel, the plate then beingremounted in the manner set forth above to retain both the plate andpanel in predetermined position. 7 I p V it will be understood thedrawings and description are to be considered merely as illustrative ofand not restrictive on the broader claims appended hereto, for variouschanges in design, structure and arrangement may be made wit ioutdeparting from the spirit and scope of said claims. I

I claim:

1. In combination with a telephone transmitter which includes a bodymember and a mouth piece having an extremity threadably connected to thebody member, there being an external annular shoulder on the mouth pieceadjacent said extremity and facing the body member, detachableinformation plate having an opening through which said eio tremityextends, a number panel mounted on the inforn'iation plate for movementwith resoect thereto when the plate is detached from the transmitter, aportion of said plate and a portion of said panel extending and beingclamped between said shoulder and the body member by virtue ofscrew-thread movement of the mouth piece toward the body member, all ina manner whereby the panel is held against movement with respect to theplate and the plate is held against movement with respect to the bodymember.

2. In combination with a telephone transmitter which includes a bodymember and a Ill) mouthpiece having an extremity threadably connected tothe body member, there being an external annular shoulder on the mouthpiece adjacent said extremity and facing the body member, a detachableinformati on plate having an opening through which said extremityextends, said plate also having a pair of substantially parallel, spacedslits extending therethrough, an elongated number panel in facialengagement with the plate at one side thereof and having its oppositeends extending through and beyond said slits to the other side of theplate, the reception of said ends in the slits mounting the panel on theplate for 10 longitudinal movement with respect thereto when the plateis detached "from the transmitter, a portion of the plate and an edge ofsaid panel extending and being clamped between said shoulder and thebody member by virtue of screw-thread movement of the mouth piece towardthe body member, all in a manner whereby the panel is held againstmovement with respect to the plate and the plate is held againstmovement with respect to the body member.

In witness thatl claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my namethis 19th day of September, 1927.

. CHARLES A. ROLFE.

